skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Kentucky Tops Coal-Driven Toxic Air Pollution List

play audio
Play

Friday, August 10, 2012   

FRANKFORT, Ky. – More air pollution is coming from the smokestacks of coal-fired plants in Kentucky than from any other state in the nation, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The nonprofit environmental organization says Kentucky plants emitted more than 40 million pounds of chemicals in 2010, accounting for 78 percent of all air pollution in the state. John Walke, NRDC's clean air director, says not only were Kentucky's emissions up 27 percent from 2009, but the increase runs counter to a nationwide 19 percent decrease during the same time. Walke attributes the national number to two major factors:

"The increasing use by power companies of natural gas, which is a cheaper and less-polluting fuel. The second factor is the installation of state-of-the-art pollution controls by many plants."

The numbers used in the report come from the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, a national database of toxic emissions provided by industrial sources.

Walke says the EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) going into effect in 2015 are expected to cut air pollution from mercury by nearly 80 percent over 2010 levels. Nationwide, it should also reduce some health problems attributable, at least in part, to air pollution. The numbers are impressive, he adds.

"Up to 11,000 premature deaths; 130,000 asthma attacks; 4,700 heart attacks; and 2,800 cases of chronic bronchitis."

While some plant operators may be making conscious choices to start reducing emissions ahead of the upcoming EPA standards, Walke thinks it is likely that more are doing so for a different reason.

"Changes in the natural gas market and the prices are the single, most influential factor in the decisions to convert to natural gas, or to retire units or even entire plants."

The report says Kentucky is home to three of the top ten power plant polluters in the country: the Tennessee Valley Authority's Paradise plant, AEP's Big Sandy facility, and the Mill Creek plant operated by PPL. See it online at nrdc.org.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021